“Yes, a horrid creature that should have long since faded from memory.”
“We toyed with getting her to give one of us the sword,” I tell him. “Would that work?”
The mirror man nods along. “Yes, it would surely end Malice. But I am unsure if it would also doom Daphne’s flesh to that fate.”
“Told you,” Gwyneth grumbles. “Sometimes I hate being right.”
“Then we don’t risk it,” Hart says.
“Bringing us back to how to get Daphne back,” I say.
The mirror man’s forehead wrinkles. “If you can get Malice to touch the mirror, unsuspecting, I should be able to drag her back and force Daphne out.”
Hart’s mouth curls into a grin, one that promises violence and wrath. “Easy.”
Okay, then.
“Where is she?” the mirror man asks. “Daphne wants to know.”
“Out collecting carrots with Nash,” Malachi says.
The mirror man’s eyebrows rise. “Daphne says that better not be a metaphor.”
A rumble of laughter comes up from my chest. I miss her being here. She makes the diurnal brighter and the sundown sultry. She makes my heart race when she enters a room, and my mouth water with her scent filling the air.
“No metaphors, Calamity,” Hart reassures her. “Get back to us.”
The mirror man nods. “Oh, Gwyneth, Prince Poopfloof wants to express he misses you and is prepared to grovel into your annus.”
Gwyneth’s mouth flops open as her eyes go wide.
“Wait, Charming is in the Land of Reflection?” I ask. How and why?
“Yes, he made a deal with one of my subjects,” the mirror man says.
One of his subjects?
“I’m confused about why he followed Daphne in there. If he means her harm, no amount of annus groveling will solve the hole I plan to put in his chest,” Gwyneth snaps.
“No, he thought it was you in here,” the mirror man informs us.
“Could you not keep him? He’s a pain in our annus,” Malachi begs, making me chuckle.
“Apologies, but no. Poopfloof must return to your world. I have enough problems with vanity—there’s no room here for his colossal ego,” the mirror man says. “I shall prepare while we wait for Malice to reappear. Make sure her back is to the mirror. That way, she won’t suspect a thing.”
“Got it,” Gwyneth mutters as he disappears. “What’s the plan?”
I look at my brothers. One of us needs to deceive Malice and overcome her to guide her to the mirror. Malachi is the easy-going one, but like Daphne, he wears his heart on his sleeve.
Hart catches my gaze and he nods with a grimace. “The plan is for you guys to make yourselves scarce. Leave Malice to me, and I’ll have Daphne back within two tempos.”
Gwyneth glances at the mirror and drags her teeth over her bottom lip. “You can handle it?” she checks, her face paling as Daphne’s emotionless laughter echoes down the hallway.
“The next time you see Daphne’s body, she will be my Calamity once more,” Hart declares.
I hope for everyone’s sake that’s the truth, because my dragon is two breaths of fire away from torching the Hallows.
Chapter
